The transport sector shed 66 000 jobs between the last quarter of 2013 and first quarter of 2014, according to Stats SA. Its Q1:2014 figures show that the trade sector employed 154 000 more people compared to the first quarter of 2013. The two categories reported the largest changes, with the quarter-on-quarter figures painting a less rosy picture in the trade sector: “The contraction in employment between Q4:2013 and Q1:2014 was driven mainly by a decrease in employment in transport, storage and communication (66 000), Community and social services (42 000) and Trade (38 000) industries,” says the report. According to Stats SA, South Africa experienced a quarterly decline in employment by 122 000 due to mainly to a loss of 110 000 jobs in the informal sector, bringing the official unemployment rate to one in four – or 25.2%.
